"First," Rhodes said, folding his arms, "let's think about which Celestial Spirits might be capable of transformation magic."
"Hmm…" Lucy pressed a finger to her chin. The first one that came to mind was, of course, Gemini.
But Gemini would never do such a thing.
Then she tried to recall among the abandoned constellations, yet there were far too many, and most of their abilities were undocumented. Even finding ancient records about them had been difficult enough.
After racking her brain, Lucy still couldn't think of one that matched.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor outside. The heavy door opened, and two guards announced loudly:
"Her Royal Highness, the Princess, has arrived!"
Princess Hisui entered gracefully, her emerald hair flowing like silk beneath the sunlight pouring through the tall windows. Yukino followed half a step behind, her posture composed and her hands clasped neatly behind her back. Several armed guards trailed them, their boots striking the marble floor in unison.
"Ah! You're that green-haired woman from that day!" Natsu blurted, his voice booming. "The one I saw at Rhode's wedding! So you're the princess?!"
"You just realized that now?" Lucy groaned, then quickly added, "And you're being rude to the princess!"
The guards tensed immediately, raising their weapons with a clatter.
Fortunately, Princess Hisui had already seen Fairy Tail's antics before. With a gentle wave of her hand, she signaled them to stand down.
"It's all right," she said softly, her voice calm and elegant. Her gaze shifted to Rhodes and Lucy. "Mr. Rhodes, Miss Lucy… I didn't expect we would meet again under such unfortunate circumstances."
Lucy's composure broke at once. "Your Highness, please believe me, this was not my doing!"
Hisui smiled faintly, almost sadly. "I understand. If Fairy Tail truly wished to harm me, I imagine there would be far more efficient ways."
She had studied the guild's strength. Five S-Class Mages, countless veterans… Lucy wasn't even one of their elites.
Natsu blinked, then laughed awkwardly. "Huh, you're actually kinda reasonable for a princess! Okay then, let's go, Rhodes, Lucy!"
"Sit down," Rhodes said flatly, shoving him back up the platform with one hand.
Hisui continued, her expression turning serious. "Although I am willing to believe in Miss Lucy's character, the Celestial Spirits we saw last night were unquestionably real."
She turned slightly, motioning for Yukino to step forward.
Yukino advanced, saluting crisply. "Saint Rhodes."
Rhodes took her in at a glance, her neat light-gray uniform, the polished boots, the gloves that marked her new post. The air of discipline suited her far more than the shy young woman he remembered.
He smiled faintly. "The uniform suits you… but after something like this, why didn't you come to us?"
Her eyes dimmed. "There are… various reasons," she said quietly. "But now isn't the time to speak of them."
Rhodes nodded. "Fair enough."
Yukino unfurled the scroll she held. Inside was a sketch, an ox-headed man wielding a massive axe.
"This," she said, "is one of the assailants who appeared last night, drawn by Her Royal Highness from memory."
"Taurus?" Lucy whispered.
The drawing was good...too good. The muscle proportions, the distinctive horns, even the gleam of the weapon. It was unmistakably him. And yet, something felt off.
Natsu squinted. "Looks like him… but also not?"
Rhode's sharp eyes narrowed. "Your Highness, may I ask, how accurate would you say your depiction is? How much does this drawing resemble the figure you saw last night?"
Princess Hisui straightened. "I studied painting for several years. While I'm no master artist, my sketches are faithful to what I see."
Yukino nodded solemnly. "Her Highness's drawing is nearly identical to the figure I witnessed."
Rhodes asked, "Then, were there any mistakes in the coloring?" Yukino replied, "Perhaps there might be subtle differences in minor details, but the main body is completely the same."
Princess Hisui frowned slightly. "Is there something wrong with this painting?"
Rhodes met Lucy's eyes and gave a small nod.
Lucy immediately stepped forward. "Yes. The body color is different from Taurus's, it's basically reversed."
Taurus's usual form was a white bull with black spots, but the one in the painting was black with white spots. The inversion was striking once pointed out.
Hisui and Yukino exchanged uncertain glances, then bent closer to check the drawing again. After comparing details, they both confirmed, "Yes, these are indeed the same colors we saw last night. They weren't reversed."
Lucy, growing more confident, continued rapidly, "Taurus's horns curve forward, but these splay outward. And Taurus always wears a nose ring with a little bell on his collar, that's missing here. The axe shape's different too, and even the belt buckle's off."
She listed every detail in one breath.
They might have seemed minor, but just the horn shape and color inversion were enough to tell her this wasn't Taurus.
Rhodes turned to Natsu. "And what were you about to say before?"
Natsu crossed his arms, looking baffled at their overthinking. "Do you even need all that? Lucy's cow and this cow have completely different faces! You can tell right away, they're not the same guy."
"???"
Not just Hisui and Yukino, but even Rhodes and Lucy froze.
Different… faces?
Rhodes glanced again at the painting, same eyes, same muzzle, same broad jaw. Maybe a bit sharper expression, yes, but;
"How can you tell that from a bull's face?" Lucy muttered.
Natsu just shrugged, confident in his nonsense.
Since no one could make sense of Natsu's "intuition," they decided to move on.
Yukino rolled up the first painting and unfurled another. "And this," she said, "is the second assailant. Its appearance and magic both match Cancer."
At her signal, two guards from the doorway stepped forward. They removed their helmets, and their hair popped up instantly.
One had a perfect mohawk.
The other, an outrageous pompadour that somehow defied gravity.
Even Rhodes raised an eyebrow. That was some high-grade hair-care enchantment.
The edges of their swords were serrated with fine nicks. Lucy recognized the pattern at once, those cuts came from scissors, not blades.
Still, when she turned back to the painting, her sharp eye quickly caught the inconsistencies.
"The scissors aren't the same make. The hairstyle's off, and even the glasses are different. And these six crab legs behind him, they're thinner than Cancer's. More like shrimp legs."
She frowned. "The face looks a bit different too."
Rhodes nodded, analyzing. "Yes, this one's features are more refined. Softer. Almost feminine."
Princess Hisui's brows drew together. "Are there really that many differences?"
She had been confident in her sketches and memory. She hadn't thought she could be that wrong.
And she didn't think Lucy would lie, either, after all, if she simply removed the Magic-Sealing Stone and allowed Lucy to summon her Spirits, the truth could be verified on the spot.
Still, Hisui asked thoughtfully, "I've heard that some Celestial Spirits can alter their appearance according to their master's preference. Is that true?"
...
Read upto 35 chapters ahead @Keepsmiling 818 p@reon